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Badders, William (1900-1986)
Chief Machinist's Mate, U.S. Navy (Retired)
Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from September 1971 through November 1971. The volume contains 157 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1986 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.
Chief Badders, who enlisted during World War II, got a taste of battleship and aviation duty before being brought into diving and salvaging work in the mid-1920s. He describes the woeful status of the Navy's diving capabilities and was in on the ground floor of improvements that occurred during his career. Of particular interest is his account of the rescue attempts and salvaging of the sunken submarines S-51 (SS-162), S?4 (SS-108), and Squalus (SS-192). For his dangerous and aggressive rescue of 18 Squalus crew members, Badders was awarded the Medal of Honor in January 1940. A prevalent theme throughout his memoir is sports. Badders played on various professional and semipro baseball and football teams, and recalls his encounters with such greats as Satchel Paige, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams.
